In a video message released by the Vatican April 29, the pope said Hernández’s beatification “is a special blessing of God for Venezuela” and an example for Venezuelans to follow as they work toward reviving the country “with a spirit of reconciliation.”
Polish Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, scheduled to be beatified Sept. 12, was ready to seek agreements in a Christian spirit, but also firmly believed “certain boundaries could not be crossed,” said a leading theologian and political scientist.
The Archdiocese of Caracas announced that Jose Gregorio Hernandez, known affectionately as the “doctor of the poor,” will be beatified in April.
Blessed Michael J. McGivney was “an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance” because of his “zeal” for proclaiming the Gospel and his “generous concern for his brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis said in his apostolic letter of beatification of the founder of the Knights of Columbus.
Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of five men and four women, including four 20th-century martyrs killed in Brazil, Turkey and Italy.
The child’s miraculous cure from a deadly case of fetal hydrops was attributed to the intercession of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. It cleared the way for his beatification Oct. 31.
The teen loved St. Francis “very much,” his mother, Antonia Salzano, told Catholic News Service Oct. 9. St. Francis “was a very Eucharistic soul who used to attend Mass twice a day,” and her son sought to imitate that same Eucharistic devotion throughout his brief life.
The tomb of Carlo Acutis was opened in advance of the Italian teen’s Oct. 10 beatification Mass and will remain open for veneration until Oct. 17.
